Ahimsa In Jainism
Ahimsā (Ahiṃsā) in
JainismJainism is a fundamental principle forming the
cornerstone of its ethics and doctrine. The term ahimsa means
nonviolence, non-injury or absence of desire to harm any life forms.
VegetarianismVegetarianism and other nonviolent practices and rituals of Jains flow
from the principle of ahimsa. The
JainJain concept of ahimsa is very
different from the concept of nonviolence found in other philosophies.
Violence is usually associated with causing harm to others. But
according to the
JainJain philosophy, violence refers primarily to
injuring one's own self – behaviour which inhibits the soul's own
ability to attain moksha (liberation from the cycle of births and
deaths).[1] At the same time it also means violence to others because
it is this tendency to harm others that ultimately harms one's own
soul
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DiwaliDiwaliDiwali or Deepavali is the
HinduHindu festival of lights celebrated every
year in autumn in the northern hemisphere (spring in southern
hemisphere).[4][5] It is an official holiday in Fiji, Guyana,
India,[6] Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka,
Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago
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Jain Temple
A
JainJain temple is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of
Jainism,[1] Derasar is a word used for a
JainJain temple in
GujaratGujarat and
southern Rajasthan. Basadi is a
JainJain shrine or temple in Karnataka[2]
The word is generally used in South India, as well as in Maharashtra.
Its historical use in
North IndiaNorth India is preserved in the names of the
Vimala Vasahi and Luna Vasahi temples of Mount Abu
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Siddhasena
Siddhasēna Divākara (Jain Prakrit: सिद्दसेन
दिवाकर) was an
DigambaraDigambara monk in the fifth century CE who
wrote works on
Jain philosophyJain philosophy and epistemology.[1] He was like the
illuminating lamp of the Jain order and therefore came to be known as
Divākara "Lamp-Maker". He is credited with the authorship of many
books, most of which are not available. Sanmatitarka (‘The Logic of
the True Doctrine’) is the first major Jain work on logic written in
Sanskrit.[2][3]Contents1 Life
2 Thought
3 Works
4 Notes
5 ReferencesLife[edit]
SiddhasenaSiddhasena Divakara is said to have lived from 500 CE to 610 CE. He
was a Brahmin by birth and a scholar. He was initiated by Acharya
Vruddhavadi.[4] According to the tradition,
SiddhasenaSiddhasena Divakara once
planned to translate all the Jaina works from prakrit to Sanskrit
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Samantabhadra (Jain Monk)
Samantabhadra was a
DigambaraDigambara acharya (head of the monastic order) who
lived about the later part of the second century CE[1][2] He was a
proponent of the Jaina doctrine of Anekantavada. The Ratnakaranda
śrāvakācāra is the most popular work of Samantabhadra.
Samantabhadra lived after
UmaswamiUmaswami but before Pujyapada.Contents1 Life
2 Thought
3 Works
4 Praise
5 References
6 SourcesLife[edit]
Samantabhadra is said to have lived from 150 CE to 250 CE. He was from
southern India during the time of Chola dynasty. He was a poet,
logician, eulogist and an accomplished linguist.[3] He is credited
with spreading
JainismJainism in southern India.[4]
Samantabhadra, in his early stage of asceticism, was attacked with a
disease known as bhasmaka (the condition of insatiable hunger).[5] As,
digambara monks don't eat more than once in a day, he endured great
pain
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HaribhadraHaribhadraHaribhadra Suri was a
SvetambaraSvetambara mendicant Jain leader and author.
There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth.
According to tradition, he lived c. 459–529 CE. However, in 1919, a
Jain monk named Jinavijayi pointed out that given his familiarity with
Dharmakirti, a more likely choice would be sometime after 650.[1] In
his writings,
HaribhadraHaribhadra identifies himself as a student of Jinabhadra
and Jinadatta of the Vidyadhara Kula. There are several, somewhat
contradictory, accounts of his life
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YashovijayaYashovijayaYashovijaya (IAST: Yaśovijaya, 1624–1688), a seventeenth-century
Jain philosopher-monk, was a notable Indian philosopher and logician.
He was a thinker, prolific writer and commentator who had a strong and
lasting influence on Jainism.[1] He was a disciple of Muni Nayavijaya
in the lineage of Jain monk
Hiravijaya[...More...]

Śvētāmbara
The
ŚvētāmbaraŚvētāmbara (/ʃwɛˈtʌmbərə/; Sanskrit:
श्वेतांबर or श्वेतपट śvētapaṭa;
also spelled Svetambar, Shvetambara, Shvetambar, Swetambar or
Shwetambar) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other
being the Digambara.
ŚvētāmbaraŚvētāmbara "white-clad" is a term describing
its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart
from the
DigambaraDigambara "sky-clad" Jainas, whose ascetic practitioners go
naked. Śvētāmbaras, unlike Digambaras, do not believe that ascetics
must practice nudity.[1]
Śvētāmbaras also believe that women are able to obtain moksha.
Śvētāmbaras maintain that the 19th Tirthankara, Māllīnātha, was
a woman.Contents1 History
2 Denominations
3 See also
4 Notes
5 ReferencesHistory[edit]
The
ŚvētāmbaraŚvētāmbara tradition follows the lineage of Sthulabhadra
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Jain Agamas
Agamas are texts of
JainismJainism based on the discourses of the
tirthankara. The discourse delivered in a samavasarana (divine
preaching hall) is called Śhrut Jnāna and comprises eleven angas and
fourteen purvas.[1] The discourse is recorded by Ganadharas (chief
disciples), and is composed of twelve angas (departments). It is
generally represented by a tree with twelve branches.[2] This forms
the basis of the Jaina Agamas or canons. These are believed to have
originated from Rishabhanatha, the first tirthankara.[3]
The earliest versions of
JainJain Agamas known were composed in
Ardhamagadhi Prakrit
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Pravachanasara
Pravachanasara, is a text composed by Jain monk, Kundakunda, in about
the mid-second century BC. It means "Essence of Scriptures" or
"Essence of Sermons" or "Essence of Doctrine". In the text, Kundakunda
shows how the correct understanding of the duality of self and others
leads to that defining characteristic of
DigambaraDigambara mendicant praxis,
nudity.[2] It consists of three chapters and 275 verses.
First chapter consists of 92 verses and it describes attributes of
Supreme Beings and outlines the first steps in the process of
transforming oneself into a Supreme Being. Second chapter consists of
108 verses and it describes laws of interaction between space, time
particles, elementary matter particles, compound matter particles,
motion and souls in the Cosmos
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ParshvanathaParshvanathaParshvanatha (Pārśvanātha), also known as Parshva (Pārśva), was
the 23rd of 24 Tirthankaras (ford-maker, teacher) of Jainism.[6] He is
the earliest Jain
TirthankaraTirthankara who is generally acknowledged as a
historical figure.[7][8] His biography is uncertain, with Jain sources
placing him between the 9th and 8th century BC, and historians stating
he may have lived in 8th or 7th century BC
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Dravyasamgraha
Dravyasaṃgraha (Devnagari: द्रव्यसंग्रह)
(Compendium of substances) is a 10th-century
Jain textJain text in Jain
Sauraseni
PrakritPrakrit by Acharya
NemicandraNemicandra belonging to the Digambara
JainJain tradition. It is a composition of 58 gathas (verses) giving an
exposition of the six dravyas (substances) that characterize the Jain
view of the world: sentient (jīva), non-sentient (pudgala), principle
of motion (dharma), principle of rest (adharma), space (ākāśa) and
time (kāla).[1] It is one of the most important
JainJain works and has
gained widespread popularity
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Kalpa Sūtra
The
Kalpa SūtraKalpa Sūtra (Sanskrit: कल्पसूत्र) is a Jain
text containing the biographies of the
JainJain Tirthankaras, notably
ParshvanathaParshvanatha and Mahavira.[1] Traditionally ascribed to Bhadrabahu,
which would place it in the 4th century BCE.[2], it was probably put
to writing only after 980 or 993 years after the Nirvana(Moksha) of
Mahavira.Contents1 History
2 Importance
3 See also
4 References4.1 Citations
4.2 Sources5 External linksHistory[edit]
Within the six sections of the
JainJain literary corpus belonging to the
SvetambaraSvetambara school, it is classed as one of the Cheda Sūtras. This
Sutra contains detailed life histories and, from the mid-15th century,
was frequently illustrated with miniature painting
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